A Story of Food, Love, and Compromise

Peanut Butter Nutella Granola

I’ve mentioned before that I go through ridiculous food phases. For instance, in high school I would eat an Asiago bagel with plain cream cheese for lunch every day. And I mean literally every day. For the past two years, my phases have been concentrated on breakfast; Until recently, I’ve eaten old-fashioned oats with almond butter and honey every single morning. I’d bring it to work, I’d eat it on the weekends, I’d feel sad when I went out to brunch instead of having my oats at home. It was kind of sick, really.

The thing about these phases is that when they stop, they STOP , and are replaced with an aversion. In an instant I’ll be left without a go-to meal.

After my almond butter oatmeal phase abruptly ended, I was left scrambling for my next big breakfast thing. Enter Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola. Simple? yes. Expensive? ugh, yes. Greek yogurt is already twice as expensive as regular yogurt (because they need to use twice the milk), fruit is never cheap (especially if you try to buy organic), but granola? Why does granola think it should be so expensive? Get off your high granola horse.

Since my food phases are long-running and borderline obsessive, I knew I needed to cut the cost of at least one of the three elements of my new breakfast equation. So, here it goes…

Dear expensive boxed granola: You’re too into yourself. We’re done.

Dear Homemade Peanut Butter Nutella Granola: This is the start of something real and lasting. Can’t you feel it?

Pour 1/2 cup of the oats in a food processor and pulse until you have oat flour, then pour the flour into large bowl. Add the remaining oats, flaxseed, wheat germ, and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the peanut butter, oil, honey, and vanilla over low heat, whisking until it melts. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Nutella.

At one of my sister’s bridal showers this summer, the hosts handed out these cute little jars of honey as favors. Since the wedding was this past weekend, I figured it was the perfect time to make use of the jar. Plus, what would make a better vehicle for fancy-pants honey than peanut butter Nutella granola?

Pour the peanut butter mixture into the dry mixture, making sure all of the oats are covered by the peanut butter sauce. Fold in the peanuts.

Spray a cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper, and spread the granola in a thin layer. Bake for 10 minutes, stir, and then bake for another 8-10 minutes. Let it cool completely and then store in an airtight container.

So much peanut butter chocolate hazelnut crunchy oat deliciousness. The peanut butter/Nutella sauce forms some of the granola into clusters, so you have some big chunks, some little chunks, and then the crunch of the salty peanut pieces.

What we have here, folks, is an easy, inexpensive, and WHOA YUM granola to satisfy any breakfast craving. What could possibly be better than the combination of peanut butter, Nutella, and oats?

I have an idea…peanut butter, Nutella, and oats with a chopped banana on top of some Greek yogurt. Which is exactly what I am eating around 8:30 tomorrow morning. And every morning after that for the foreseeable future.

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13 thoughts on “Peanut Butter Nutella Granola”

Yummy! I know exactly what you mean. I’m currently in a granola/fruit yogurt phase, so much easier than the previous, hot porridge with nutella or jam and ground flax, phase but a heck of a lot more expensive!
Lovely photography, that’s what caught my eye in the Reader 🙂

Katie. You could totally next-level this shit and make rice krispie treat-ish bars with this granola. AmIright??

Also, though, I wanted to share the granola recipe we’ve been using lately with you: http://orangette.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-am-here-to-tell-you.html. It’s super crispy (just the way I like it), and you can mix up the add-ins to your delight. I don’t really like coconut so I usually replace that with the same amount of slivered almonds, and I usually use walnuts instead of pecans. The best part is that this granola recipe literally only uses 3 dishes (before baking) to prepare: bowl, measuring cup, spatula. Oh and it makes a TON OF GRANOLA. You could definitely play around with this recipe if you so desire, but it seems like your heart may be stuck for a while. 🙂

First off, you are totally, TOTALLY right. Rice krispie action will have to happen.

Second, I love Orangette and I REALLY love the looks of that granola. Thank you for sharing! I may be in a Nutella/PB craze for a while, but who knows, I could be spontaneous and switch my granola up…but, you know, probably not for a few months 🙂

I’m sorry it wasn’t an all star for you! I thought the flavor and texture improved after it sat for a day, so I’d definitely go back and munch on it again to see what you think. Also, you could try it without the ground flax and wheat germ – those additions give a health boost, but if you’re not used to them you might want to leave them out.